Growing up as a child or even in adulthood one thing which never leaves your side is, the stories taught to you since childhood. A general term for this is ‘folklore’ or ‘mythology’ which is described as traditional beliefs, customs, and stories of a community, passed through the generations by word of mouth. But, do you know there are several well-known anime based on Japanese mythology?

When it comes to Japan, anime doesn’t disappoint in exploring the rich culture, customs and ideologies of the country by the means of 2D characters. One who wants to learn more about Japan should be definitely into anime as it shows their strong attachment to not just cultural background and history but also folk tales.

And, in today’s article, we’ll take a look at some of the most exciting anime based on Japanese mythology that has taken heavy inspiration from folk tales. So, without any further ado let’s get started.

10. Toilet-Bound Hanako-Kun

Toilet-Bound Hanako-Kun is a lite horror anime series that follows the high-school student, Nene Yashiro who desires a boyfriend. In fact, she even summons a mysterious spirit ‘Hanako-san of the Toilet’ who can grant any wish for the right price. However, on the contrary, she finds out that Hanako-san is actually a boy and not a girl, as rumors said.

So, she becomes his assistant and works with him to fight against evil spirits and maintain the balance between the spirit world and the human world. Interestingly, ‘Hanako-san of the Toilet’ is a popular Japanese legend about a girl named Hanako-san who haunts girls’ restrooms in high schools. The anime used this unfounded belief, keeping the theme alike.

9. Mushishi

Mushishi is an anime based on Japanese mythology that directly inhabits some of Japan’s deepest sects of folktales. Using various inspirations for its occult nature, this series focuses on one of its titular “Mushishi”, Ginko. The series is an episodic anthology with no overarching plotline in which the only common elements are Ginko and the Mushi.

A majority of the stories do not focus on Ginko but rely on him as a catalyst to move the story forward by diagnosing or curing mushi-related illnesses and phenomena. Pondering what it truly means to be alive and being, Ginko’s exploration brings the viewer to both intimate and spectacular settings of mythology that define life at its more strange and base.

8. Hotarubi No Mori E

The original Hotarubi no Mori e shōjo manga and the subsequent film examine the unique love story of a young girl who spends all of her summers with a mysterious, masked spirit. It tells the story of a 6-year-old girl named Hotaru Takegawa, who gets lost in a forest inhabited by a mountain spirit, as well as yōkai (strange apparitions from Japanese folklore).

She is found by a mask-wearing, human-like entity named Gin, who tells her that he will disappear forever if he is touched by a human. Even though she can never touch the spirit lest she risks him disappearing, Hotaru still manages to develop a perfect summertime romance drama that can bring tears to anyone’s eyes and gives fans a magical experience in more ways than one.

7. Demon Slayer

Today, Demon Slayer is hailed to be one of the best anime series ever made because of its bewildering visuals. Set in the Taisho era, the series follows Tanjiro Kamado, who strives to become a demon slayer after his family is slaughtered and his younger sister, Nezuko, turns into a demon. However, the traces of Japanese folklore seems pretty transparent in the entire story.

One of the things that it borrows heavily from the mythology is that Tanjiro’s enemies or so-called ‘Demons’ aren’t made-up creatures, but the famous Oni. The purple flowers in anime, known as Wisteria flowers, have a long connection to the history of Japan and are also called ‘Flowers of Death’. Japanese people see the demons as divine spirits as they symbolize anxiety and hope for society.

6. Yamishibai: Japanese Ghost Stories

Junji Ito fans will be delighted to find out about this show because it explores various kinds of Japanese horror stories. Yamishibai is told from the perspective of a creepy masked man who arrives at a playground and asks children to gather around for his stories. Each episode of Yamishibai was animated to mimic the kamishibai method of story-telling.

The series is organized into a collection of shorts with each episode featuring a different tale based on myths and urban legends of Japanese origin. These include exploring the nature of talismans, family traditions, and even popular figures such as the Eight Feet Tall Woman. With around ten seasons, this anime based on Japanese mythology is still ongoing.

5. Princess Mononoke

Japanese tales often revolve around supernatural forest spirits and Princess Mononoke does the same thing with its meaningful story. The anime is set in the late Muromachi period of Japan, but it includes fantasy elements. In fact, the term ‘mononoke’ is not a name, but a Japanese word for supernatural, shape-shifting beings that possess people and cause suffering, disease, or death.

Princess Mononoke follows a young Emishi prince named Ashitaka, who is cursed by a boar god to possess superhuman strength that would slowly kill him. Seeking a cure, Ashitaka journeys West where he encounters San, who is charged with protecting the forest and the spirits that dwell within it. Trapped in between both sides, Ashitaka tries to broker peace between humans and the supernaturals.

4. Spirited Away

Hayao Miyazaki is a master of curating exceptional stories by adding cultural values from Japanese folklore and in Spirited Away, you can find all of its best elements. The most critically acclaimed film of Studio Ghibli, Spirited Away tells the story of young Chihiro who enters the spirit world in a quest to help her parents turn back to normal after a witch transformed them into pigs.

Having to summon up some new bravery, Chihiro must work her way through a bathhouse, frequented by various creatures from Japanese folklore, while trying to find a way to return to her world with her cured parents. While Spirited Away doesn’t focus entirely on a single facet of a Japanese folktale, it does share a common concept: the persistence of themes.

3. Inuyasha

Inuyasha is a romantic action adaptation of Rumiko Takahashi’s original manga series produced by Sunrise. Often appreciated for introducing a lot of people to anime, Inuyasha brought young viewers a special brand of adventure and bloody battle that both divulged in the romance of Japanese lore as well as terrified with the legends’ surreal monsters.

From a female mangaka famous for her shōjo writing, Inuyasha follows a very unique love story of half dog-demon, half-human named Inuyasha and the 15-year-old junior high school student Kagome Higurashi. Accompanied by their close companions, they venture across ancient Japan for the last fragments of a powerful crystal.

2. Naruto

Maybe it would come as a surprise to many after finding another anime based on Japanese mythology and even that a worldwide popular series like Naruto. While many things in Naruto take inspiration mainly from Japanese and Buddhist mythology, the story itself is original. Through the exploits of Naruto Uzumaki, the series focuses on a world of ninjas years after the mysterious attack by the wrathful Nine-Tailed Fox.

Along with several other references to Japanese myths in the series, all the tailed beasts are named after different yōkai (strange spirits). Orochimaru, Jiraiya, and Tsunade are the names of actual characters in Japanese folklore and are based on the story “The Tale of Jiraiya the Gallant”. Most of the Mangekyou Sharingan jutsu are also named after Japanese deities.

1. Noragami

Noragami follows the adventures of a rookie god trying to earn a following in the rough-and-tumble world of Japan’s spiritual marketplace. After a fateful meeting with a girl who naively tries to save him from being hit by a car, that deity finds an unsuspecting new friend who must now help him find a new partner unless she wants to stay a floating spirit forever.

While Noragami has everything a mainstream anime could want, it’s also very rooted in Japanese culture, specifically Shinto religious practices. The Japanese for “five yen”, sounds like a phrase that signifies giving respect. In taking these coins, Yato is paid what he really wants – worship. Besides, all the areas of the afterlife that make appearances in Noragami have associated legends that factor into the story.

Which one of the following anime based on Japanese mythology is your favorite? Feel free to comment down your thoughts and make sure to recommend some other anime like the ones listed above, also don’t forget to share this article with your fellow otaku friends.

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